The Germiest Locations in the Office

The Germiest Locations in the Office

When you own a business, the safety of the environment is one of your biggest priorities. Keeping your office cleaner leads to healthier employees and a more successful business.

Most people would agree that the most germ-infested area in any building is the bathroom. Naturally, this room is exposed to many more germs that have the potential to cause illness compared to most other locations. The surprising fact is that the areas of the bathroom with the most germs may not be the toilets. Germs such as fecal bacteria, E coli, salmonella and hepatitis A not only lurk in the stalls, but you can also be exposed to them nearly anywhere you place your hands. The toilet seat may often be one of the cleaner parts of the bathroom as places like the door knob, soap dispenser, paper towel holder and faucet handles are exposed to these germs as well.

Not every office has a full kitchen, but many have at least a sink and a fridge. After the toilet, the sink is often one of the nastiest places in the office as it houses various bacteria. The sink and counter tops are where employees handle their food, and they easily become dirty with daily use. Most office kitchens will be cleaner than those in the home as they will likely not be used for handling raw meats and their accompanying bacteria, but they may still harbor mold and mildew from wet sponges or uncleaned spills. Areas that possess the most germs include the counter tops, cabinet and drawer handles, sink, faucet, taps, sponges and even appliances like coffee makers. These areas need special attention to keep employees free from unnecessary germs.

Although many fail to notice it, one place that goes the longest without being properly cleaned is the desk. The average office employee comes in contact with over 10 million germs a day, and your phone may house more than 25,000 microbes per square inch. The desk is the most used place in the office, and it gets touched by the same hands that handle the germs in the kitchen and restroom. Those infested hands end up touching numerous surfaces on the desk including the computer keyboard, mouse, chair, stapler, phone and anything else frequently used including the desk surface itself. To properly keep such germs at bay, the desk should be disinfected just like other parts of the office. Anything that gets touched by hands should be cleaned.

Keeping up with flu shots or cleaning up after oneself can help fight the spread of sickness, but a truly clean office environment requires a more deep disinfecting.